University of Louisville School of Law

{{Short description|Public law school in Louisville, Kentucky, US}}

{{Infobox Law School

|name = University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law

|image = BrandeisLaw2.jpg

|image_size = 290px

|established = {{start date and age|1846}}

|parent = University of Louisville

|type = Public

|parent endowment = {{increase}}$720 million

|students = 355 {{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

|dean = Melanie Jacobs

|logo = UofL School of Law.png

|logo_size = 200px

|ranking = 99th (2023){{cite web|url=http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+4|title=Best Law School Rankings – Law Program Rankings – US News|access-date=March 28, 2014|archive-date=February 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208063129/http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+4|url-status=dead}}

|city = Louisville

|state = Kentucky

|country = U.S.

|website = {{URL|https://louisville.edu/law}}

}}

The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, commonly referred to as The University of Louisville School of Law{{cite news|title=Louisville School Of Law Provides Briefing Service|publisher=Middlesboro Daily News|date=October 20, 1934|page=3}}{{cite news|title=Lambert to speak at local Rotary meeting|publisher=Corbin Times Tribune|date=August 29, 2001|page=5|quote=...from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1974.}} or the Brandeis School of Law,{{cite web |title=University of Louisville, Louis D Brandeis School of Law |url=http://www.law.louisville.edu/ |access-date=July 27, 2014}} is the law school of the University of Louisville. Established in 1846, it is the oldest law school in Kentucky and the fifth oldest in the country in continuous operation.University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law Guidebook (2009) The law school is named after Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis, who served on the Supreme Court of the United States and was the school's patron. Following the example of Brandeis, who eventually stopped accepting payment for "public interest" cases,Klebanow, Diana, and Jonas, Franklin L. People's Lawyers: Crusaders for Justice in American History, M.E. Sharpe (2003) Louis D. Brandeis School of Law was one of the first law schools in the nation to require students to complete public service before graduation.Business First: "Law student's public service is bedrock aspect." Friday, March 10, 2006

The school offers six dual-degree programs that allow students to earn an MBA, MSW, MA in humanities, M.Div. (with the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), MA in political science, and MUP in urban planning while attaining their J.D. These classes are offered in conjunction with other University of Louisville departments.

The school's law library contains 400,000 volumes as well as the papers of Louis D. Brandeis and John Marshall Harlan, both Supreme Court Justices and native Kentuckians. It is one of only thirteen Supreme Court repositories in the nation. The law school's flagship law review is the University of Louisville Law Review.{{Cite web|url=https://louisville.edu/law/|title=Home — Louis D. Brandeis School of Law|website=louisville.edu|access-date=June 19, 2018|archive-date=February 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221195030/http://www.law.louisville.edu/library/collections/brandeis/node/225|url-status=live}}

According to University of Louisville's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 92% of the Class of 2018 was employed within ten months of graduation. This includes 76% who obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.{{cite web |title=Louisville ABA §509 Employment Data |url=https://louisville.edu/law/about/accreditation/aba-required-disclosures/employment-summary-reports/2018 |website=University of Louisville |access-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319195522/https://louisville.edu/law/about/accreditation/aba-required-disclosures/employment-summary-reports/2018 |url-status=live }}

File:U. Louisville L. Rev.jpg, Summer 2018.]]

History

=19th and early 20th century history=

File:Brandeisl.jpg opened in 1846 and was named for Justice Brandeis in 1997.]]

Louis D. Brandeis School of Law began in 1846 as the Law Department of the University of Louisville. For most of the nineteenth century the Law Department remained small and focused on practical education. "As late as the 1870s the school still supported a faculty of only three professors, each of whom met classes two days per week for four hours."Cox, Dwayne D., and William J. Morrison, The University of Louisville (2000) Classes were held in the late afternoon to allow students to keep daytime jobs as law clerks. The faculty ignored the casebook method of instruction that was being developed at Harvard Law School at the time, instead encouraging students to visit local courts and offering optional mock court sessions. The "school literature even boasted that the faculty consisted of 'practical lawyers' and not professional educators." As a result, prominent faculty members such as James Speed and Peter B. Muir often eschewed their part-time positions in favor of politics or private practice.

The turn of the twentieth century saw the Law Department finally begin to accept emerging national standards in legal education. In 1909, the school adopted Harvard Law's casebook method. In 1911, the school graduated its first female student, N. Almee Courtright. In 1923, the Law Department officially became the School of Law and hired a full-time professor. The following year University of Louisville President Arthur Younger Ford insisted that students must take some college courses before being admitted to the law school.

=The UofL School of Law and the Jefferson School of Law=

Despite these efforts at reform, the students and professors of the School of Law continued to prefer part-time practical education over the national trend towards more formal legal education. This partly reflected the success of and competition from the Jefferson School of Law, which opened in 1905 and offered night classes.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Organized by several prominent local attorneys, the part-time professors at the Jefferson School of Law received tuition directly from the students and were responsible for renting classroom space. With students wishing to clerk and part-time professors continuing to practice, both schools were located within walking distance of the courthouse. As the national trend continued towards formal legal education, the Jefferson School of Law found it difficult to manage as a part-time law school. In 1950 the Jefferson School of Law merged with the University of Louisville School of Law.

=Louis D. Brandeis and the UofL School of Law=

Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis was a great supporter of the University of Louisville. A native Louisvillian, Brandeis planned to make the university a "major center of academic research by creating specialized library and archival collections in such areas as sociology, art, music, and labor." In addition to time and money, Brandeis also donated his personal papers, books, and pamphlets, numbering over 250,000 items. He was also instrumental in getting Supreme Court briefs and a collection of Justice John Marshall Harlan's papers deposited in the law school library.Louis Brandeis

In honor of Brandeis, the University of Louisville School of Law changed its name to the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law in 1997.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The school's Louis D. Brandeis Society, established in 1976, awards the Brandeis Medal to individuals whose lives reflect Louis Brandeis' commitment to the ideals of individual liberty, concern for the disadvantaged and public service.

The Brandeis Law Library owns a limited edition print of Andy Warhol's portrait of Brandeis which is on display in the library's main reading room.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.louisville.edu/students/thebrand/brandeis-warhol/|title=Home Page – Louis D. Brandeis School of Law|access-date=May 6, 2009|archive-date=June 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603052125/http://www.law.louisville.edu/students/thebrand/brandeis-warhol/|url-status=live}}

The ashes of Brandeis and his wife Alice Goldmark Brandeis are buried underneath the law school portico. His ashes are buried approximately fifty yards away from Auguste Rodin's The Thinker.

Today

True to its history, the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law has retained a strong focus on practical legal education. The school offers students a chance to gain experience at its law clinic, on moot court teams, in skills competitions, and on three student-edited law journals. As part of the Samuel L. Greenebaum Public Service Program, the school also requires all students to complete 30 hours of law-related public service. The school has several pre-professional student-run organizations, including the Student Trial Lawyers Association, International Law Society, Student Health Law Association, Environmental Law Society, and The Brand (intellectual property).{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In addition to pre-professional student organizations, there are also a number of student-run social and political organizations on campus. A partial list of these includes the Federalist Society, the American Constitution Society, Lambda Law Caucus, Black Students Association, Asian-Pacific Law Students Association, Jewish Law Students Association, Christian Legal Society, and Woman's Law Caucus.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The Law Library supports the curriculum and research needs of the school's faculty and students, and is open to the university community, practicing bar, and the general public.{{Cite web|url=http://louisville.edu/law/library/about|title=About the Law Library – Louis D. Brandeis School of Law Library|website=louisville.edu|access-date=September 28, 2016|archive-date=September 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902032212/http://louisville.edu/law/library/about|url-status=live}}

Deans of Louis D. Brandeis School of Law

1846–1873: Henry Pirtle
1881–1886: William Chenault
1886–1890: Rozel Weissinger
1890–1911: Willis Overton Harris
1911–1919, 1922–1925: Charles B. Seymour
1919–1921: Edward W. Hines
1925–1930: Leon P. Lewis
1930–1933: Neville Miller
1933–1934: Wendell Carnahan (interim)
1934–1936: Joseph A. McClain Jr.
1936–1946: Jack Neal Lott Jr.
1946–1957: Absalom C. Russell
1957–1958: William B. Peden
1958–1965: Marlin M. Volz
1965–1974, 1975–1976: James R. Merritt
1974–1975: Steven R. Smith (interim)
1976–1980: Harold Wren
1980–1981: Norvie L. Lay (interim)
1981–1990: Barbara B. Lewis
1990–2000: Donald L. Burnett Jr.
2000–2005: Laura Rothstein
2005–2006: David Ensign (interim)
2007–2012: Jim Chen
2012–2017: Susan H. Duncan (interim)
2017–2018, 2021–2022: Lars Smith (interim)
2018–2021: Colin Crawford
2022–present: Melanie B. Jacobs

Employment

According to University of Louisville's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 92% of the Class of 2018 was employed within ten months of graduation. This includes 76% who obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. University of Louisville's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.7%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lstreports.com/schools/louisville|title=University of Louisville Report, Overview | LST Reports|website=LST Reports by Law School Transparency|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531085359/https://www.lstreports.com/schools/louisville|url-status=live}}

Costs

The tuition at University of Louisville for the 2021–2022 academic year is $23,798 for residents and $28,798 out-of-state students.{{cite web | url=https://louisville.edu/law/admissions/tuition-financial-aid | title=Tuition & Financial Aid — Louis D. Brandeis School of Law | access-date=July 8, 2022 | archive-date=July 8, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708135228/https://louisville.edu/law/admissions/tuition-financial-aid | url-status=live }}

Notable alumni

Jon Ackerson (1943– ), former member of both houses of the Kentucky Legislature, former member of the Louisville Metro Council, and Louisville lawyer{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/search/people/Jon-W-Ackerson/Louisville-KY|title=Jon W. Ackerson|publisher=intelius.com|access-date=February 10, 2016}}
David Armstrong (1941–2017), mayor of Louisville, Kentucky
Nick Baker (1937–), former Kentucky state senator from the 38th district, passed 1974 "girls' basketball" bill{{cite web |url=https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/Moments18RS/web/legislative%20moment%2046.pdf |title=The 'Basketball Bill' - 'The Right Thing to Do' |author= |date=2018 |website=legislature.ky.gov |publisher=Kentucky Historical Society |access-date=August 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206051509/https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/Moments18RS/web/legislative%20moment%2046.pdf |archive-date=December 6, 2022 }}
Jeremy Beck (1960–), composer{{Cite web|url=https://www.music.pitt.edu/blog/composer-lawyer-jeremy-beck070921|title=Composer and Lawyer Jeremy Beck | Department of Music | University of Pittsburgh|website=music.pitt.edu|access-date=November 13, 2022|archive-date=November 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113233408/https://www.music.pitt.edu/blog/composer-lawyer-jeremy-beck070921|url-status=live}}
Charles Booker,{{cite web |last1=Barton |first1=Ryland |title=State Rep. Charles Booker Files For McConnell's Senate Seat |url=https://wfpl.org/state-rep-charles-booker-files-for-mcconnells-senate-seat/ |website=WFPL News |date=January 8, 2020 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804152200/https://wfpl.org/state-rep-charles-booker-files-for-mcconnells-senate-seat/ |url-status=live }} former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2022
William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837–1901) (class of 1857), former United States House of Representatives member from the Seventh District of Kentucky{{cite web|title=William Campbell Preston Breckinridge|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000790|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=October 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015213705/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000790|url-status=live}}
William Marshall Bullitt (1873–1957) (class of 1895), served as Solicitor General of the United States 1912–1913{{cite web|title=SOLICITOR GENERAL: WILLIAM MARSHALL BULLITT|url=https://www.justice.gov/osg/bio/william-marshall-bullitt|website=The United States Department of Justice|date=October 23, 2014|publisher=Department of Justice|access-date=May 11, 2016|archive-date=June 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603115514/https://www.justice.gov/osg/bio/william-marshall-bullitt|url-status=live}}
Daniel Cameron (politician), first African-American Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ag.ky.gov/about/Pages/Attorney-General.aspx|title=Attorney General Daniel Cameron – Kentucky Attorney General|website=ag.ky.gov|access-date=November 13, 2022|archive-date=November 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113233434/https://www.ag.ky.gov/about/Pages/Attorney-General.aspx|url-status=live}}
John Breckinridge Castleman (1841–1918) (class of 1868), Confederate brigadier general
Luke Clippinger (1972–), member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Marlow Cook (1926–2016) (class of 1950), former United States Senator{{cite web|title=Marlow Cook|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000721|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=August 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804231927/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000721|url-status=live}}
Chris Dodd (1944–) (class of 1972), United States Senator from Connecticut, 1981–2011{{cite web|title=Chris Dodd|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=d000388|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=November 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112233515/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000388|url-status=live}}
Charles R. Farnsley (1907–1990) (class of 1930), former United States House of Representatives member from the Third District of Kentucky{{cite web|title=Charles R. Farnsley|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000023|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=November 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102140419/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000023|url-status=live}}
Howard Fineman (1948–) (class of 1979), former Newsweek Magazine editor and chief Washington correspondent; Huffington Post editor{{Cite web|title = Howard Fineman, Business Speaker, Keppler Speakers Bureau|url = http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/?speaker=Howard%2520Fineman|website = www.kepplerspeakers.com|access-date = January 22, 2016|archive-date = February 7, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160207215300/http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/?speaker=Howard%2520Fineman|url-status = live}}
Fuller Harding (1915–2010), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (1942) and Taylor County county attorney for twenty-four years{{cite web|title=Fuller Harding|url=http://www.columbiamagazine.com/index.php?sid=34373|publisher=Columbia Magazine .com|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=February 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223030815/http://www.columbiamagazine.com/index.php?sid=34373|url-status=live}}
Bob Heleringer (1951–) (class of 1976), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Louisville lawyer{{cite web|url=http://www.equineregulatorylaw.com/robert_l_heleringer_biography.php|title=Biography of Robert L. "Bob" Heleringer|publisher=equineregulatorylaw.com|access-date=February 6, 2016|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215122322/http://www.equineregulatorylaw.com/robert_l_heleringer_biography.php|url-status=live}}
Todd Hollenbach (1960–), judge and Kentucky State Treasurer
Michael C. Kerr (1827–1876) (class of 1851), former United States House of Representatives member from Indiana and 28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.{{Cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1800-1850/Speaker-of-the-House-Michael-Kerr-of-Indiana/|title=Speaker of the House Michael Kerr of Indiana | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives|website=history.house.gov|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613153833/https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1800-1850/Speaker-of-the-House-Michael-Kerr-of-Indiana/|url-status=live}}
Joseph Koenig (1858–1929) (class of 1884), co-founder of Metal Ware Corporation
Gerald Neal (1945–) (class of 1972), member of the Kentucky Senate 1989–present, first black person elected as party leadership in the Kentucky House or Senate {{cite web|title=Gerald Neal|url=http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/S033.htm|publisher=Kentucky Legislative Research Commission|access-date=January 10, 2015|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127101206/http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/S033.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=State Senator Gerald Neal Now Part Of Ky. History|date=December 3, 2014|url=http://wuky.org/post/state-senator-gerald-neal-now-part-ky-history|access-date=December 4, 2014|archive-date=February 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203000341/http://wuky.org/post/state-senator-gerald-neal-now-part-ky-history|url-status=live}}
Louie B. Nunn (1924–2004) (class of 1950), 52nd governor of Kentucky{{cite web|title=Louie B. Nunn|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_nunn_louie.html|publisher=National Governors Association|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=October 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001193938/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_nunn_louie.html|url-status=live}}
Emmet O'Neal (1887–1967) (class of 1910), former United States House of Representatives member from the Third District of Kentucky{{cite web|title=Emmet O'Neal|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000089|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=October 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023220606/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000089|url-status=live}}
Sannie Overly (1966–) (class of 1993), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8LYkAAAAIBAJ&pg=938,4899817&dq=sannie+overly&hl=en |title=Overly sworn in as representative |newspaper=The Bath County News-Outlook |page=3 |date=January 16, 2008 |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514073112/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8LYkAAAAIBAJ&pg=938,4899817&dq=sannie+overly&hl=en |url-status=live }}
Diane Sawyer (1945–present), anchor of ABC News's nightly flagship program ABC World News, a co-anchor of ABC News's morning news program Good Morning America and Primetime newsmagazine.
Greg Stumbo (1951–), former Kentucky Attorney General and former Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives{{cite web|title=Greg Stumbo|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/4137/gregory-stumbo#.UMfEOYNZWBE|publisher=Project Vote Smart|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=May 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520164926/http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/4137/gregory-stumbo#.UMfEOYNZWBE|url-status=live}}
David A. Tapp (1962–) (class of 1993), Judge on United States Court of Federal Claims, former judge of Kentucky Circuit Court{{Cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/node/7324431|title=Biographical Directory of Federal Judges|website=Federal Judicial Center|access-date=April 29, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107014608/https://www.fjc.gov/node/7324431|url-status=live}}
Oscar Turner (1867–1902), member of the United States House of Representatives
Lawrence Wetherby (1908–1994), 48th Governor of Kentucky.